“Birthright Citizenship” Fight Lies Ahead -- Immigration is going to be a big issue in the 2006 elections, especially in the states along the Mexican border. However, for the social archconservatives (those who believe that if English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it’s good enough from everyone else), the issue is red-meat. They may even try to “fix” the 14th Amendment to the constitution, which gives everyone born in America a Yankee passport. What’s troubling is not so much their focus on the problem, but their wrong-headed “solution.”

Aceh Rebel Army Disbands -- The tsunami last year destroyed the Indonesian province of Aceh, killing thousands. The hackneyed adage about clouds having silver linings, however, seems apt. Having fought the central government for 30 year or so, “The Acehnese national army, or the armed wing of the Free Aceh Movement, has demobilized and disbanded,” according to its former deputy leader.

Yield Curve Inverts Briefly in Thin Holiday Market -- An inverted yield curve sounds like a move in gymnastics, or perhaps a variety of baseball pitch. Unfortunately, it is merely a term used by economists for a rather arcane event that happens from time to time in the world’s bond markets. It usually heralds an economic slowdown, but when America’s yield curve inverted briefly this week, it did so in thin trading conditions. The jury is still out on its significance.

Monday Night Football Signs off ABC -- Conservative columnist and die-hard baseball fanatic George Will has written most accurately that American football “combines two of the worst things in American life. It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.” Amen. However, as a conservative, Mr. Will no doubt felt a twinge of regret as the American Broadcasting Corporation finished a 35-year run of football American style on Monday nights on December 26. While the NFL will play on Monday nights next season, the broadcast will come courtesy of cable network ESPN, owned by Disney, which also owns free-TV ABC. It won’t be the same.